Pride and Celebration

I've already done an April Bead Journal Project piece (see a few posts down if you missed it), but April is such an eventful month for me that I couldn't put everything into just one piece.  So this is my April BJP piece, part 2.

This piece is called "Pride and Celebration" because I have so much to be thankful for in my life.  This project is my reflections of me.  First, I chose the colors based on inspiration from a peacock.  Bright blues, greens and gold, with a little bit of purple thrown in.  I was drawn to the shape of the swirl, but I don't really know why.  Robin A. had some insight on this when I met with her, so maybe she will share her thoughts. 

I celebrate April 18.  Due to my illness my family and I had been living apart for about 2.5 years.  Last April 18 we moved in together as a family again.  It has been nothing but a joyous home life, and our one year anniversary is important to me.  April 21 is my birthday.  I am officially 39, and I will hereafter be 39!  Because it's my birthday, I've been reflecting on me.  I take pride in who I am, perceived flaws and all, and I celebrate my talents and accomplishments.  I feel that I am a talented beader, I am an awesome mom and wife, a great cook, a good friend among other things.  I have a lot to offer as a unique individual, probably because of my morals and values that I was brought up with.  And April 17 is the date of the first class I will be teaching...it marks my progression as a beader and is something I was wanting to accomplish.  I'm hoping that it goes well and that it is the first of many more to come in the years ahead.

I did have difficulty managing the 15/0's for the entire background.  They always prove to be a challenge to me, and I guess the only way to get better is to practice, practice.  The colors in the photo were kinda washed out.  The background is an aqua blue/green, and the colors in the swirls are very vivid and bright in person.  I'm just not that great of a photographer.  I did try to adjust the colors in Photoshop, but I'm not that proficient with it yet, either.

I am very proud of my peyote stitch around my paua cabachons!  I'm not a peyote stitcher, so this was quite an accomplishment for me.  I was very happy with how nice and neat the peyote came out around the paua.  Oh, and I certainly can't forget to say thank you again to Robin for the gift of the beautiful shell sequins that added some confetti to my party.

So here is "Pride and Celebration", pride in myself and celebration of my April milestones.

By the way, if you live in the Phoenix area and want to take my class, there is one or two spots open.  Email me at indigosbeads@live.com to get more info.  Hope to see you!!!